Universal framework for dental assistants moves one step closer

Following eight months of virtual meetings, the Dental Assisting Professional Model Workgroup moved its draft framework forward at an in-person meeting in October.

The workgroup was formed to address the shortage of qualified dental assistants, and the lack of national uniformity regarding licensing and job responsibilities. The group consists of dental assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, educators, and regulators.

Katherine Landsberg, director of government relations for DANB (Dental Assisting National Board), the organization behind the workgroup, acknowledged, “It’s very difficult to recruit people without an understandable roadmap for advancement that also supports long-term retention, and it’s difficult to prepare candidates to succeed. Each state has been working on solutions, but the impact of their work is limited to their own state because the lack of a shared model for dental assisting makes it necessary to keep reinventing the wheel.”

The new framework strives to elevate the dental assisting profession and attract more candidates to the field, provide a road map for career growth that can support recruitment and retention of dental assistants over the long term, improve professional mobility of dental assistants from state to state, increase practice efficiency and enhance access to care, and provide states with a straightforward framework for regulation that reflects the needs of dentistry.

The framework will contain definitions of dental assisting levels, scope of duties, pathways for education and training, sample legislation and regulations, and guidance and resources for implementation.

Workgroup cochair Dolores Cottrell, DDS, executive secretary of the New York State Board of Dentistry, said,  “During our virtual meetings, we laid a good foundation for this work. Coming together in person, the camaraderie was extraordinary. We had meaningful discussions and carefully considered many perspectives.”

Fellow cochair Helen Sublette, BS, CDA, COA, is a member and fellow in the American Dental Assistants Association and owner of Coastal Dental Professionals Consulting. She says the group’s work will uplift dental assistants.

“I’ve been inspired to see the group come together to make a difference for the dental assistant workforce. Dental assistants are essential to the practice and in providing patient care, yet there is no national agreement on the dental assistant scope of practice or levels for advancement. The framework this group is building will create pathways that will help attract and retain dental assistants to the profession, while also enhancing patient care and public protection.”

The workgroup is striving to address some long-overdue issues within the dental assisting profession. According to a survey conducted by DANB (Dental Assisting National Board) last year, 83% of dentists and DAs agree there needs to be uniformity among states regarding dental assisting laws and regulations. An overwhelming 90% of dentists and DAs believe that DAs should hold a license to perform radiography, followed by 82% for sterilization procedures, monitoring nitrous oxide, fabricating and placing temporary crowns, and applying pit and fissure sealants.¹

The group will publish a draft of the framework in early 2025 and ask for feedback from the dental community.

Reference

1. Kaiser M. Survey shows agreement in profession for dental assisting advancement. DentistryIQ. April 6, 2024.  https://www.dentistryiq.com/dental-assisting/career-enhancements/article/14310693/survey-shows-agreement-in-the-profession-for-dental-assisting-advancement